what is wrong with this leaf? - Ask Extension
A few of our trees have leaves with this type of destruction. What is going on? And what do I need to do?
Knowledgebase
what is wrong with this leaf? #415779
Asked July 20, 2017, 10:12 PM EDT
A few of our trees have leaves with this type of destruction. What is going on? And what do I need to do?
Howard County Maryland
Expert Response
This is the feeding damage of an insect, probably a caterpillar or sawfly. If you no longer see any insects on the leaves, then they have probably moved on. You'll notice at the bottom of the photo that you can see the trees veins and the tissue between can been eaten. This is called windowpaning, as in window pane. In a big section of it, the fragile veins left behind fall out and so you see a big hole. You'll notice that the rest of the leaf is still green and functioning fine.
This sort of damage is normal on a tree as long as huge parts of the tree are not defoliated. Trees produce many more leaves than they need, for just such reasons. They can easily tolerate a some insect feeding and this supports our insect populations without which the whole wildlife food chain collapses.
ECN
This sort of damage is normal on a tree as long as huge parts of the tree are not defoliated. Trees produce many more leaves than they need, for just such reasons. They can easily tolerate a some insect feeding and this supports our insect populations without which the whole wildlife food chain collapses.
ECN
